An Elven Christmas
by Kakashi Kat
Summary: One wintery night, an elven prince and his father find out just how much joy Christmas can bring to one's heart.


Dedicated to a good author and person:

_Kalisona_

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**An Elven Christmas **

Marlonian Hayes

"How long has it been?"

"I lost count, many years ago."

"Well, do you still remember them?"

"Of course, how could I forget? They were always there for me, and I for them. Well, that is not entirely true. They aren't here for me now."

"Yes they are," the snow was cold. On their legs, and the wind stung their faces. Each pointed ear was a bit red from exposure. One small, snow-covered hill reached above an even smaller town below. A great pine forest grew on either side of the hill, leaving a clear stretch of white land going up one side, and down the other. The sky was dark, and the stars were bright; each pair of elven eyes watched as the people began to flick on their lights; golden squares shone on the sides of the houses, and left the same mark on the white snow.

The streets were barren, except for the many tracks of feet and tires. Only two pairs of footprints stained the smooth beauty that was given to the hill. Now two dark shapes sit at the top of the hill; their icy-blue eyes stare down on the town that they made their home.

One sat with a green sweater, blue pants, and a red/green scarf around his neck. There was no protection for his blonde hair. It had once been long and flowing, now only short strands of gold remained. This was so he would not look too much out of the ordinary. Next to him was his father. Long ago, he was exposing to depart for a land that would shelter all the elves for eternity; instead, he stayed with his son, not being able to part his heart from his. He too wore a blue pants, but instead he wore a large black jacket and his hair was still long and flowing down his back. The two sat in silence and reminisced on age-old memories.

Finally, when the snow turned violet, and the sun disappeared, Thranduil leaned over to his son, "They are always here for you. Just look inside yourself." The elf sat leaned back to original spot, and kept his eyes on his son. A small smile came upon the younger elf's lips. Oh how he missed seeing that smile. Before, the smile use to show on his delicate features all the time. It was almost uncanny how such a simple jester of joy could be missed so much. Now, the father saw that joy come back to his son.

Legolas still looked out upon the snowy valley; when he spoke, his breath could be seen in the chilling air. "Their laughs, how they smiled, how their eyes glinted with happiness. I am glad I was there to see it to the very end," now his own eyes showed a smile in them. Then he turned to his father. "Tell me, what do you miss most?"

This earned him a scoff, "Most likely how Elrond pestered me all the time. That dwarf friend of yours-"

"Gimli."

"Yes, Gimli; he told some of the most hysterical stories about you. To think, an elf that grew up in such a prejudice home, could befriend such a… I do not even know how to begin describing the dwarf. Making it even more interesting, you always laughed along with the stories he told, instead of dying of embarrassment of lashing out in anger," he returned his son's smile, and then gazed back out at the town. Legolas did the same, and again the two elves were silent.

"Legolas…"

"Yes Father?"

"I'm proud of you." The young elf turned back to his father. His timeless face smiled once more, "Thank-you."

-XIX-

The fire was crackling in the hearth, and host ash flickered up as he placed another log on the flames. This two crackled with the flames soon covering the piece of wood. Hot coals burned bright beneath the logs, and a black poker was placed back down on the brick. The blonde elf moved away from the fire and looked around his home.

It was a simple house. There were four main rooms: a bathroom, a bedroom, a kitchen, and a living room. Then there was an extra bedroom; it was smaller than the other was. In that small space, Legolas made his home when he visited.

The fireplace was located in the simple living room. One large chair sat a bit to the right of the fire, facing into it. A couch sat against one of the five walls. Behind that was a large window that looked out into the street. The door was large and made from oak; it was in the smallest wall; while next to it was a calendar that read: December 2006. The rest of the space had been filled with smaller items: a coffee table, two end tables, a small desk, and a cedar chest. There was also a footstool in front of the large brown chair. In the center of the room, there was a large, round, white deerskin rug. The walls were of a light colored oak wood. Pictures of nature had been hung onto the walls, and a portrait of a beautiful blonde woman hung above the fire. In her lap was a child, and unless one looked very close, it was almost impossible to see that both pair of ears were pointed.

Thranduil took a seat in the chair and looked up at the portrait. He smiled at his deceased wife. "How I wish you were here to see your son."

"What would mother saw if she was here?" the older elf was a bit startled. He turned and stared at his son. Legolas was leaning in the door was that came from the kitchen, his arms crossed. In place of his green sweater was a loose long sleeved, black shirt. He smiled at his father, and then moved behind the large chair.

It did not take more than a second before Thranduil was once again staring at the portrait. "I think she would tell that she loved you. Probably ask why you did not visit more also." He let a short laugh escape, a heard the elf behind him do the same. Then there was a hand on his shoulder.

Leaning down to his father's ear, Legolas spoke gentle words, "You know what? I think you're right." Thranduil smiled at the idea, and then quickly wiped away a tear he had just realized was falling. The younger elf heard his parent sniff a bit, and knew he was crying. "Do not worry; someday we will be with her again."

"I dearly hope so." With this last comment from his father, the blonde elf moved his hand across the older one's shoulders and the back of the chair, before sitting down on the couch. Then his eyes turned to something in the far corner, and to the left of the fire.

It was one of the pines from the forest. Only it was not as tall or large. The height of the tree was no more than Legolas' shoulder. On its branches there were different colored glassed balls, small electric lights, small pieces of a silver material hung from many of needles, and several candy canes were hooked onto the branches. Oh how the younger elf loved peppermint. It had quickly become his favorite type of candy.

Legolas stood up from his seat and walked over to the small, decorated tree. Taking a piece of tinsel in between his index finger and thumb, the young elf spoke to his father, "I see you have begun to celebrate Christmas."

"Hmm?" the older elf turned in his seat to see his son. Another smile made its way onto his face. "Oh, yes, I have! It seems that this holiday is very special to all, and makes a better person out of most humans. You know that old butcher, Harley is it?- Well just the other day he smiled and waved at me. All the while shouting, 'Merry Christmas!'" Legolas held a hand to his chest as if surprised.

"Harley?!" he gasped and then gave a small chuckle. This caused Thranduil to do the same. "So," Legolas stared into a golden glass ball. The whole tree glowed, and it only increased his own natural glow. It was so beautiful to the elf's eyes. "Did you get presents?"

"Yes, actually. Miss Denmore, she lives next door, you know her, anyway, she gave me a cake. Others gave me all kinds of different trinkets. In fact, this shirt came from Harley's wife." Thranduil pulled at the thing cloth of his green shirt. Three buttons were located at the top, and the light from the Christmas tree reflected off of them. "Oh, and I got something for you."

This surprised the younger elf. Never, in all of the thousand years of life his father had on him, had the elf given a gift unless it was a birthday. Even then, it would only go to selected people. Luckily, the former elven prince was one of them; in fact, now he was the only one left. "I am sorry, father, I did not get you anything." He turned to face the older being in the chair.

Standing up, and heading towards his bedroom, the elf reassured his son. "Do not worry, I did not want you to this year." He mumbled something else about where the gift was located, and how he could have misplaced it. Legolas patiently waited by the tree. He had grown use to waiting, beside a few minutes was only a flash in an elf's life. Plus, he did not want to anger his father by asking what was taking so long. Many years may have changed the elf's looks just the tiniest bit, but his temper still remained as strong and active as ever. Curses came next to the younger elf's ears, followed by a short cry of joy. "Here it is!"

Finally, Thranduil came from the bedroom holding a large box. It was only a couple of inches in height, but the width was many times larger than the height. There were only a few things that the gift could be. Quickly, Legolas racked the ideas in his head as he moved in front of the couch. '_It's probably an important portrait of Oropher; maybe of Aragorn. Then again, the humans place shirts and other articles of clothing in thin boxes. Perhaps he has found an old elven cloak of his. No, the cloth maybe strong, but not that strong to last all these centuries. It must be a portrait of some friend or family member.' _These thoughts would help with the great surprise that lurked inside the large box.

Legolas sat down on the couch, and Thranduil placed the box in his arms, then promptly sat down beside his son. The older elf watched as Legolas gently removed the golden ribbon, and the red wrapping paper. Then he slowly lifted the lid, and a bit of disappointment came into his eyes when he saw the white paper covering the gift. Thranduil could not help but grin as the reaction to the paper reminded him of Legolas as an elfling.

Next, the younger elf began to remove the white paper. As he pulled it away from the top end, his eyes grew large at the first sign of the gift. Excitement filled his mind, and his movements, as he quickly discarded the rest of the paper. A single tear came from his eye as he saw the gift that lay in the box. Gently taking the gift from the box, he held it close to him. The box fell to the floor, and neither elf seemed to notice.

Running a soft finger along the string, he stared at the bow in his delicate hands. "Oh father, how did you… Thank-you." It was no ordinary bow however. The bark used was white, and golden markings ran up and down it. Legolas plucked the string, and listened as it sung. The noise, the sight, the touch, all brought back memories of Lady Galadriel. She had given the bow to him when the fellowship passed through Lothlorien. Now, the same bow, sat in his lap; no longer a gift from the lady of light, but from his father.

"I thought I had lost this."

"You thought wrong. Fortunately, after you left Greenwood, I found it. When Elladan and Elrohir had visited last, they had hidden it behind a pantry in the kitchen."

"That was over twenty years before I left! Those two must have forgotten about it."

"Yes, but I did not. Only fifty years ago did I find it amongst my things in the closet. Quickly, I took it to someone who could preserve the wood, and here it is. Yours forever, eh?"

Placing the bow back on his lap, Legolas quickly turned and gave his father a short, but meaningful, hug. "_Adar, Hannon-le."_

"_Gell gîn nin echad meren, ionn."_

The two sat on the couch in silence for the rest of the light. When the clock above the fireplace finally struck twelve, Legolas stood from his spot and slung his bow over his shoulder. Saying goodnight, and thank-you once again, the young elf went off to his bed. However, he did apologize for not getting his father anything. "I am truly sorry. If I had known, then I would have…"

"Do not worry about it. Tomorrow is Christmas, if it makes you happy, then you can go and get me something in the morning. I assure you, I will be sleeping in." He tilted his head a bit to emphasis the point. Before entering the kitchen, and going to his room, Legolas smiled again and disappeared around the corner. The last Thranduil saw of his son that Christmas Eve was the tip of the white bow being taken around the corner.

With a sigh, the older elf sat back into the couch and smiled. Before falling asleep there, he whispered something that was meant for his son. "You have given me something already: you have given me yourself." With that, his eyes faded into the glossy look they got when he was sleeping; his heart full of joy and love.

xXx

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A/N: _I know some of you may have seen this story posted by another author (Kalisona) She is a good friend and a great person, and she was kind enough to post the story in time for Christmas. My computer was having problems, so I asked her to post it. _

_I do hope all who read this have enjoyed it. _

_Since it was already posted once, there were some reviews. Here they are-_

The Dancing Cavalier :  
2006-12-26

_**AW! That is a very interesting story. With a very interesting twist. I thought it was well written, with few mistakes, and very interestingly plotted. You did a very good job!!**_

Flag :  
2006-12-24 

_**That was lovely :) **_

Great job.

A Whisper In the Wind :  
2006-12-24 

_**What a wonderful story! The author must be a genius! Lol, just kidding. Again, thanks a million for you help Mellon-nin. I hope you have a warm and merry Christmas, filled with the love and joy of your friends and family. :)  
Marlo  
P.S. If you ever need help with anything, I'm here.**_

Anastasia Who :  
2006-12-24 

_**aw... so very sweet. A very touching Christmas eve story. I like how you did this that Legolas and Thranduil are still living and just not recognized. That was a cool idea. Great work on this. Merry Christmas to you. May it be blessed.**_

_I have already sent personal replies, and to all of them I say thank-you for reviewing and letting me know someone is reading Kalisona's material, and enjoying my writing. Please read more of stories, and again thank-you for just taking a look at my story. ;)_

_To Kalisona: I can't thank-you enough. If I thanked you one million-trillion-zillion-billion-quadrillion times be good for you? Okay! Here it goes: Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou... (this is going to be a while, maybe you want to read another story?)... thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou..._


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